Process and apparatus for treating oil



June 4, 1929. c. P. DUBBS PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING OIL Filed Oct. 6, 1920 Patented June 4, 1929 UNITED STATES PAT N OFFICE.

CARBON P. DUBBS, F WILMETTE, ILLINOIS; A$SIGNOR TO UNIVERSAL OIL PRODUCTS COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF SOUTH-DAKOTA.

rnoon'ss AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING on).

Application filed October 6, 1920,. Serial No. 415,140..

than in the still'in which it was originally treated. F

In the drawing, the single figure is a view, in side elevation of my improved apparatus for carrying out the process.

Referring specifically to the, drawing, 1.

designates a furnace in which are mounted a plurality of stills 2, 3, 4 and 5 of any suit able type, those in the drawing being shown as of the shell type, although coils may be used. Oil is fed to the first still 2 of the battery through feed line 6 having throttle valve 7 connected to charging pump 8, leading'to any suitable source of raw oil supply. The stills are connected by the liquid over- 'fiow lines 9, 10 and 11, as shown and are provided with suitable residue drawoifs 12, controlled by suitable'throttle valves (not shown). The stills are provided with suitable vapor outlet pipes 13, 14, and 16 in t which are respectively inserted throttle valves 17, 18, 19 and 20. The pipes-l3, 14

and 15 project into the lower ends of reflux condensers or dephlegmators 21, 22 and 23 respectively and are provided with spaced cap members '24, the arrangement being such that the vapors can freely pass into the reflux condensers but the reflux condensate cannot fall back into the vapor pipes. The pipe 16 on the still 5 leads to a similar dephlegmator 25 which is provided with the drawotf pipe 26, having throttle valve 27. The upper ends of each of the dephlegmators are connected by branches 28 to a manifold vapor line 29. Throttle valves 30 are interposed in the lines 28. The manifold line 29 leads to condenser coil 31 seated in condenser box 32. The lowerend of this coil is connected by pipe 33, having throttle valve 34 to the upper end of a receiver 35. This receiver 35 is provided with pressure gauge 36, liquid level gauge 37 gas outlet pipe 38,'having throttle valve 39 and liquid drauotf pipe 40. having throttle valve 41. i

The reflux condensate from each reflux condenser is returned to the next still of the side of the pump.

seriesby means o-freturn pipes 42, prefer- -ably provided with vapor traps 43. In

each of these pipes 42 is interposed a pump 44, provided. with valves 45 and 46 on either as to by-pass thepump is aby-pass line 47 provided with throttle valve 48. Suitable throttlevalves 49, 50 and 51 are interposed in the liquidtransfer lines 9, 10 and 11 respectively.

The process may Fuel oil, as for example, Mexican or Cali- Beyond these valves so be operated as follows:

fornia fuel .oil or crude, may be intermitv tently or continuously fed into the still2 and there subjected to a pressure of 300 pounds and to an oiltemperatu're of .650 degs. F. The oil in the still'3 may be subjected to a pressure of'250 pounds and a temperature of 650 degs. F. The oil in the still 4 is subjected to a pressure of 200 pounds and a temperature of 700 degs. F.

The oil in the still 5may be subjected to a.

pressure of 150 pounds and a temperature .of 750 degs. F. The dephlegmators may be subjected to a pressure of say, .150 pounds, and the manifold line 29 subjected to the same pressure whilev the condenser coil 31 is subjected to a pressure of 100 pounds and the receiver to a pressure of 75 pounds. This may be accomplished by suitably regulating the valves 17 18, 19 and 20 and 49, 50 and 51 for the still pressures and by opening the valves 30 and regulating a valve 30" in the manifold line for the pressure on the dephlegmator and by regulating the valves 34 for the. pressure on the condenser coil and the valves on the receiverfor pres sure thereon.

In this case, although the pressure on the stills successively decreases, the pumps must be used as the dephlegmators are under lower pressure. The condensate in the last reflux condenser 25 may be permitted to'fall back intothe still 5 or drawn off through the line 26, the valve 27 bein suitably regulated to maintain the desire pressure.

As a modified manner of carrying out this process, -a pressure of 200 pounds and a temperature' of say, 600 degs. F. may be maintained on "the still'2, a pressure of 250 pounds and a temperature of 700 degs. F. maintained on the still 3; a pressure of 300 pounds and a temperature of 800zdegs. F.

maintained on the still 4; and a pressure of 325 pounds and a temperature of 900 I degsi' F. maintained on the still 5. The

' mator.

dephlegmators may all' be maintained at 150 pounds pressure and the condenser coiland receiver at the same pressure, by suitably regulating the valves. Inthis case, it will be necessary to use'the pumpsetd inasmuch as the reflux condensate must be pumped to a still of higher pressure than the dephleg- As to others-modified methods of'carr ing out the process, I may use either t e first method described or the second method and maintain each dephlegmator. under the same-pressure as the still to which it is connected. In such cases, the pumps 44 need not be used where the stills are at successively decreasing pressures but will have to be used Where the stills are at'successively increasing "pressures. As a stllL further modification of the process, any one of the four methods above described. may beused a temperature of 800 degs. and dropping degs. in each successive still. l v

except-that the temperatures instead-of in: creasing through each still, will decrease, as for example, starting at the first still with Fromthe foregoing, it will be seen that wide variations and in fact," different processes-may be carried out in this one apparatus.

'I claim as my invention:

'1. In anapparatus for cracking petro leumoil, the combination with a seriesof inter co'nnected stills, of a -r eflux conden'ser connected'to each still, connections for. re-

turning reflux condensate produced from vapors from nne still to a succeeding still of the series, means for maintaining pressures on the stills, means for maintain ng different pressures "on .the dephlegmators,

pumps interposed in'the said vconnections,

" and means for bypassing any ofsaid pumps.

2. In" an apparatus for cracking petroleumoil, the combinationwitha-seriesof inter-connected stills, means for introducing oil to one of the stills tobe successively fed to the other stllls, of a reflux condenser connected to each still, connections for returning reflux condensate from one condenser to asucceeding still of the series, means for maintaining pressures on the stills, punips interposed in the said connections, and means for by passing any-of said pumps. 3; A process for cracking hydrocarbon oil under the pressure of self generated vapors which consists in maintaining successive bodies of oil under successively higher temperatures in separated zones, in taking 0E vapors from each zone and separately subjccting them to reflux condensation, in passing the reflux condensate obtained from the vapors taken eff from a zone of lower temperature to the zone of next succeeding higher temperaturewithout permitting such condensate 13c return to the zone in which f higher temperatures in a plurality of succeseach of said bodies .to anindependent dephlegmator wherein reflux condensation occurs, inpassing reflux condensate from each of said dephle gmators, except. the

clephlegmator to which the vapors gener ated fromthe body ofoil maintained at the highest temperature are passed, directlyto the body of oil maintained at the next suc-- cessively higher temperature than the temperature at which'the oil, from which the vapors producing thereflux condensate are released, is maintained; 5. A process for cracking hydrocarbon oil under a self generated vapor pressure consisting in subjecting the oil to successively 'sive heating zones, in taking 01f vapors prior to the passage of the oil tothe next heating zone, and in subjectingsuch vapors to separate reflux condensation and in passing the reflux condensate separated from the vapors taken off from the oil heated in each ofsaid heating zones, except the last, to the next succeeding heating. zone, without .per mitting any of thereflux. condensate to return to that heating zone in which the oil,

givingfup the vapors from which the condensate is condensed, is being heated,

evolved from the oilheated in each zone 6. A process for cracking etroleum oil cons1sting in distilling the 0" at a predetermined cracking temperature in aheating chamber, taking off vapors therefrom and subjectin' them to reflux condensin passing t e unvaporizedportion a? action, 7 -the' oil to a second heating chamber where it is sub- -jected to a higher temperature, directly delivering' said reflux condensates to the second heating chamber for further treatment, subjecting the .vapors from the second cham -..loer to reflux condensing. action and likewisegdirectlydelivering the condensate and the unva'porized portionbt 'the'oil from the second chamber to the third chamber for. treatment at a still higher temperature and. maintaining a uniform super-atmospheric pressure on the oil under treatment consisting iii-distilling the oil at a predetermined cracking temperature in a heatin chamber, taking 03 vapors therefrom an subjecting them to reflux condensin action,

12 0 7process for cracking petroleum oil 1 passing the unvaporized portion o the oil to 'a second heating chamber where'it is subjected to a higher temperature, directly delivering said reflux condensates produced from vapors discharging from the first mentioned chamber to the second chamber for further treatment, subjecting the vapors from the second, chamber to reflux condensing action, and likewise delivering the re- 5 flux condensate and the unvaporized portion of the oil from the second chamber to the third chamber for treatment at a still higher temperature. 4 8. A process of cracking pe troleum oil,

comprising introducing oil to a still, a portion of said oil being passed to. succeeding stills, in progressively increasing the ternperaturesj'of the successive stills, in independently discharging Vapors from each still to a reflux condenser, in passing reflux condensates produced in one'still directly to a succeeding still of a higher temperature.

' CARBON P. DUBBS. 

